All is Well
by macklb35
Summary: This story is about Carol and Daryl as they struggle to adapt to the new community at Alexandria. Daryl runs into something very familiar from his past and the two unexpectedly end up together, being brought together through the bringing up of Daryl's untold past.
1. Chapter 1

**This story was an idea that I've had in my head since about season four. Multiple Caryl shippers, like I, just want Daryl and Carol together, but I thought that it would be cool to have something that actually brings them together. I wrote this idea down and formed it into a story. This takes place during season 5 when the group first arrives at the gates of Alexandria.**

 _I have to leave to protect you. I will always love you, know that._

Aaron sat beside me talking our ears off, telling us all about his beloved Alexandria. It was nerve-wrecking for all of us, having this chance to start over, but we were all scared that this new beginning would end just like it did back at the prison or at Hershel's farm. I began to go around the RV, going from face to face, looking at everyone in my growing "family" and giving them a reassuring smile. My eyes stopped when they reached Carol's. She deserved this fresh start more than anything. She had been through so much pain and sorrow and I was beginning to notice that it was starting to eat her alive. She needed something to cheer her up.

We rolled up in the RV to the high gates surrounding Alexandria. I smiled as I saw the houses peeking over the top of the gates, this was real. I felt a million feelings at the moment, being excited, but very hesitant at the same time. I opened the door to the RV and as soon as I stepped foot on the pavement outside the gates, a funny feeling hit me and it made my stomach turn upside down.

I pushed this feeling aside and looked up at the top of the gates. I saw a girl with brown hair standing there. I could not make out her face, but she had to be only about 16 or 17. She had a sniper pointed at all of us and was yelling "Hands up now!" I now knew why I had that weird feeling, or did I?

"What the hell is this? You have fucking snipers up here? I thought you swore this was safe" I claimed.

Aaron waved the girl off and she pulled her gun down. Aaron turned to me, "It is safe! This is just Kinsley. Before this went down, she had a step-brother who was going into the army. He taught her how to protect herself and how to shoot. She is not a threat, she is just overprotective of this place. She's got the best shot of all of us, so she volunteered to work the gates. We haven't had an attempted overthrow since she stepped foot on that tower."

Kinsley. That name brought back so many memories. That name that meant so much to me years before the world went to shit. Hearing this name again was refreshing and heartbreaking all at once, but it had my wheels turning.

"Oh hey Aaron. Sorry if I frightened you guys." said Kinsley.

"Come unlock the gates for us."

"Duck!" Kinsley screamed. It took me a minute to realize that she was yelling at me. I was confused when I saw the knife in her hands, but for some reason I felt a sense of trust with her, so I obeyed. As I turned around I saw the knife she had thrown in the walker's eye behind me. I had been so distracted I didn't even hear it coming. I began to like this kid already.

"Hey grab my knife for me" she laughed.

I smiled and joined the rest of my family at the gates.

Kinsley pulled opened the gates for us and as soon as I was able to get a good look at this kid, I stopped dead in my tracks.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Her soft blue eyes looked so familiar and I felt like I knew her from somewhere, but I knew I had never met her. Could this be? No it couldn't. I just kept my feelings to myself and walked through the gates with my family.

Kinsley smiled at me as I walked past. God how much I wanted to ask her about herself. I had to find out, but I knew it was not the right time and plus I had to build up my courage.

The leader of Alexandria, Deana, gave us a mini tour of the place. My eyes kept floating back towards that girl at the wall. God she looked so familiar. Everything about her brought back memories from my past, her straight and long brown hair, her blue eyes that seemed to be the same shade as mine, and that tough cover she seemed to put up, much like me, but if you looked close enough you could see that she was breaking. She seemed to be almost a reflection of me.

After Deana showed us to our new homes, I realized that I had to talk to someone about this. I pulled Rick aside and we went on a walk outside.

"Rick, I don't know what to do. That kid we met at the gate looks so familiar and I think I may know who she is. Can I talk to you about it?"

"Of course" he replied.

"Okay don't let this get out because I am still not sure. Well about 18 years ago I fell in love with this girl. Her name was Mary and she was so beautiful, she had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her smile could light up anyone's day. But, my father was abusive as you know and he didn't like me being with her. He said that it took away from my time with him. So he threatened me and told me that if I didn't break up with her, he would hunt her down and kill her. So, of course I didn't listen to him and I stayed with her. We were able to keep it a secret for about a year and we just didn't see each other as often to keep it from my dad. One day she came up to me crying and told me that she was pregnant. I wanted to be with her more than anything, but I knew it could not be. I told her that I had to leave her to keep her and my child safe. I promised to send money and help provide everything the baby would need from shoes and clothes to books for school. I was able to stay for the baby's birth, but I left after that. We named her Kinsley, just like the girl at the gate. That's why I kind of freaked out and kept to myself. But anyways I wrote to my Kinsley every week and kept in touch with her. I helped provide for her up until this shit broke out. Actually when my pop died, which was a week before all this went down, I called her mother and planned a time to meet my daughter in person for the first time. You see, I told Mary never to tell Kinsley anything about me or allow her to see any pictures of me because I wanted to protect her from hurt. The day I was supposed to meet her, all this broke lose and I never got to. I think that girl may be her. She looks so much like her mother, everything except for her brown hair, which looks like mine. Rick I see so much of myself in her and so much of her mother. I really think it could be her, but I just don't know. What should I do? I want to talk to her so bad, but I don't want to get my hopes up and it not be her."

"Well why don't you let me just casually walk up to Kinsley tomorrow and talk to her. I'll find out about her past and come back to you. I promise I won't tell her about you and I'll keep it real simple like I'm just trying to get a feel for everyone in our new home."

"Okay thank you Rick. I have a strange feeling that this really may be her, but please don't tell anyone before we know for sure."

"I won't. Now get some sleep while you can, you may have something important to do tomorrow."

"Night Rick."

"Night Daryl."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

That night I hardly slept at all. I was so nervous. What if this really was her? I had dreamt of meeting my daughter in person my whole life and now this dream had the possibility of coming true. I tried to not get my hopes up too high, shoving these thoughts aside for the night and finally falling to sleep around 2 a.m.

The next morning I accidently overslept and woke up to Carol banging on my door telling me to get my lazy ass out of bed. I jumped up out of bed, threw my robe on, and flew past her and down the stairs. I wondered if Rick had talked to her yet. When I stepped out onto the porch I saw him on the wall talking to her. I became very anxious, but decided to sit in the rocking chair besides me and wait patiently.

"Good morning Kinsley."

"Good morning. Rick, right?"

"Yes. So today I figured I would go around the camp and try to get to know some of our new friends and you were the first person I came across."

"Okay sounds reasonable. So what do you want to know about me?" She said with a grin.

God, she even smiled like Daryl.

"Well Aaron already told us about how you became so good with knives and guns, so I don't need to ask you that, but I just want to know a little about you before this shit went down."

"Oh okay. Well my life was kind of normal. I had a mom, Mary, and a step- dad and five brothers and one sister. I was the middle child, with my brothers Nathan, Aaron, Robert and my sister, Emily, being older and twin younger brothers, Carson and Ryan."

I thought to myself, Mary? That was the same name as the woman Daryl was talking about. I put that thought aside for the moment and asked her,

"What happened to them?"

Right as I asked that question I saw her facial expression change drastically. I regretted asking her as she started to explain.

"Well. My older brothers, Nathan and Aaron were killed a week after this went down. They went on a run to get some supplies and never came back. My step-dad and I went looking for them and all we found was what was left of them, which was not much. They had been devoured by a huge herd on their way to the stores. Then about a month after that, my sister Emily committed suicide by shooting herself right in front of me. I had walked into her room and found her crying with a gun to her head. Unfortunately I was not able to talk her out of it. That day scarred me for life and I still have nightmares about it. Later on, my brother Robert was shot and killed while he was hunting in the woods with me. A stupid hunter mistook him as a zombie. That day scarred me too and I still remember picking pieces of his brain out of my hair that night. Finally, my mom, step-dad, and twin brothers died on the same day about two years ago. A group that was led by a governor with an eye patch attacked my house midday. My parents had time to tell me to go hide in the attic, but I did not even have time to grab my younger twin baby brothers out of their cribs before those bastards busted the door down. I witnessed this governor slit my parents' throats and then strangle my baby brothers. They never found me but ever since that day I have been scarred for life constantly waking up with nightmares and other things. After that it was just me and I survived on my own for two years until Aaron found me and brought me here."

"Oh my gosh Kinsley I am so sorry. If I had knew how horrible that story was, I would've never asked."

"It's okay. I try not to think about it anymore and only move forwards. All is well now."

"So you mentioned that you had a step-dad. What happened to your real dad?" I asked.

"Well my real father left my mother in order to protect me and her. You see, his father was very abusive and threatened to kill my mom and me. He did not want my dad with my mom, so when my mom had me, he had to leave in order to keep us safe."

This had to be her. I knew it. It was the same story as Daryl's.

"And you are not mad at him for this?" I asked.

"No, of course not. He did the right thing. I just wish I could've met him before this broke out. My mom always spoke so highly of him."

"Kinsley, I do not know how you will take this but I believe I know your father. Do you happen to have a picture of him or know his name?"

"No, sorry. My mom wouldn't let me see his picture or know his name in order to protect me, but he did write me letters and that is all I have. He never even signed his name on those, though. "

"Well, your father told me this same story some time ago and I know you're his child. You not only have the same name, but when I look into your eyes, they look identical to his. You look so much like him Kinsley."

"Well can you tell me about him?"

"I'll let him tell you about himself when he is ready."

As I climbed down from atop the wall, I heard her cry. I couldn't wait to tell Daryl.

I saw Rick walking up the street and all of the sudden my stomach just started doing backflips. I stood from my rocking chair to greet him.

He walked up the steps and placed a hand on my shoulder and said, "She's yours."


	4. Chapter 4

That night I did not get much sleep at all once again, but I woke up early the next morning to go find Aaron. I had to ask him for a favor.

I found him that morning sitting on his front porch.

"Hello Aaron. I have a favor to ask you."

"Okay sure what is it?" he asked.

"Well this might seem a little crazy at first, but I found out that my daughter that I had to leave due to my abusive father, is here at Alexandria. It's a long story that I will tell you later. But the girl's name is Kinsley and she told Rick yesterday that you were the one that found her two years ago. I was wondering if you still happened to remember where her house was."

"Yes I do. It is not far from here about 10 miles. Why do you want to know?"

"So I want to tell her tonight before the town party that I am her dad, but I want to go to her old house and grab something before I tell her. You see, I would write her letters all the time and in our last letter before this shit broke out, she told me that she had cut off the head of her teddy bear that I gave her when she turned three and placed all of my letters inside of it and sewed it back. She said that this way the letters were always close to her. So when I tell her tonight I want to be able to give it to her because I would be the only person to know about this."

"That is a great idea. Let me get my things real quick before we head out. I want to go ahead and leave so she and you have plenty of time to digest this great news before tonight's party."

We had gotten the teddy bear with no problem that morning and now I was beginning to clean myself up to look presentable for her. I had already taken a shower and put on the flannel and jeans I was going to wear to the party that night. I told Carol the whole story earlier that day and now she was cutting my hair and shaving my beard. Jessie had offered to do it since she was a professional, but I just felt better and more comfortable with Carol. I always did.

Carol had evidently finished because she handed me a mirror and told me, "You look great Daryl. She is going to love you. You will be a great father."

I smiled and hugged her as a thank you, but all these questions began to run through my head such as what if she doesn't like me and what if she is mad at me for leaving her and the scariest one, what if she wants to keep on living without me? I checked my reflection in the mirror one last time and walked out of the house with the teddy bear under my arm.

When I got close to where she had been staying, in the attic above Aaron's house, I became really scared. Aaron must have read my facial expression because he put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Relax. She will love you."

As I took each step towards her door, I had flashbacks from when I first met her mother to when she was born and I got to hold her for the first time to the worst flashback of having to leave her. I realized I had reached the top step, so I took a deep breath and hid the bear behind my back. I had no idea how this was going to go and I was more scared then I had probably been in my whole life. I wanted this moment to be perfect.

I opened the door to her room and all my fears had dissolved when she turned around from the chair she was sitting in. God she looked so much like her mother, but I also saw so much of myself in her. I just wanted to run and hug her, but I told myself to take it easy.

She looked at me with those bright blue eyes and I could tell they were full of confusion so I spoke first.

"Hi Kinsley. I'm Daryl. I was a part of the new group that just arrived."

"I remember you. I saved your ass from the walker."

Damn she even talked like me. I just laughed.

"Um Kinsley I have something I need to talk to you about. So…" I couldn't talk anymore. I couldn't find the words to tell her so I just used what I could. I pulled out the bear from behind me and held it out to her.

She reached forwards and grabbed the bear, hugging it tight to her chest.

She looked up at me with tears and said, "The only person who would know about this would be…"

Kinsley took her turn of not finding the words and I just nodded my head, giving her the answer she wanted to hear. I had no clue how she would take this news so I just tried to break the silence.

"Kinsley I don't have much to offer, but all that I know is that I want to take you in and be the father I never could be. I want to protect you till the end of this hell we're living in. I can't apologize enough for having to leave you. Just know that I did it to protect you. I wanted to be with you and raise you more than anything in the whole world. Every day I prayed that I would have the opportunity to meet you and I never did because God decided to end the world. I am so sorry for all that I put you through."

At this point I began to cry. I couldn't hold it in anymore. This was my baby girl sitting right in front of me. The girl that I held some many years ago. The girl that would write me letters telling me about her new friends, new schools, and many other things. The girl that I had to let go of due to my bastard of a father.

All of the sudden, in the middle of my thoughts, she stood up and ran. In the split second I thought she was running out the door, but no she ran to me, about knocking me over and hugged me.

We both sat there for what felt like forever, in silence, crying. We had both apparently dreamt of this day for so long and it was finally here.

Kinsley looked up at me with tears in her beautiful blue eyes and said, "I love you dad. I want you to know that I never called mom's husband dad because that name only deserved to be said to you. I can't believe it's really you."

She reached up and placed one of her soft hands on my cheek and I kissed her on top of her head.

"I love you, too. Kinsley will you come and live with me in my house where I can protect you and make up for the years that I missed? I understand if…"

"Yes dad, of course. I don't want to be apart from you ever again" she interrupted.

"Me neither."

All my fears were abolished. She wanted to stay with me. I was going to finally experience what it was like to finally be an actual father. I was scared for my life, but I knew I wouldn't be in this ride alone.


	5. Chapter 5

After our conversation that afternoon, Kinsley came home with me. I was planning on telling my family before we went to the party. When I got to my house, Rick was sitting on the rocking chair. He got up, walked over to Kinsley, and said, "Welcome to the family kid."

Kinsley smiled from ear to ear as he gave her a hug.

I told Rick to go gather up the rest of the family and just tell them that we were going to have a meeting on precautions in case anyone tried anything at this party. I wanted to tell them all together.

Everyone came rolling in in the nice clothes that they had found at the warehouse of clothes Deana showed us all. They all looked amazing. Everyone looked so clean! I was so used to seeing them in ratty clothes and covered in dirt or walker blood, that I almost didn't recognize them. The men were all in either jeans and a nice shirt or dress pants and a dress shirt. The girls were all in dresses. Some of them had even curled their hair. They all truly looked stunning.

My eyes immediately fell on Carol, who was wearing a baby blue dress that fit her just right everywhere it needed to. The blue dress made her blue eyes stand out even more. God that women drove me crazy. My eyes shifted away from her when I felt Kinsley grab my hand. She looked so nervous being around all these people she didn't know. I just squeezed her hand to assure her that everything was going to be okay.

Everyone gathered around in the dining room and Rick started the conversation. He explained to everyone that we all needed to relax and have a good time, but be alert at the same time. After he was done with his short spill, he glanced at me. People had been staring at Kinsley, but no one had the guts to say anything.

My stomach dropped as I began to clear my throat, "Guys I would like you to meet Kinsley. So, as all of you know my father was very abusive to me and Merle growing up. When I was younger I was with a young lady named Mary. My father became upset because I was spending too much time with her and not enough time with him. He, being the psychopath that he was, threatened to kill Mary if I stayed with her. I told him that we broke it off, but we just continued to see each other in secret. One day she came up to me in tears and told me that she was pregnant. I stayed with her until she had that child, but once she had the child, we agreed that it would be best for me to leave in order to protect her and the child from my father. It was the hardest decision of my life, but me and my daughter wrote letters all the time, so that I could still be a part of her life. Mary promised to never tell my daughter anything about me to keep her from finding me and to keep my father from finding out about her. I never got to meet her in person, but when we came here I recognized the same little blue eyes that looked up at me when I help my daughter for the first time. Those familiar eyes belonged to Kinsley. So, I would like you all to meet my daughter, Kinsley Dixon."

Kinsley looked up at me with a tear falling down her face. That story made her cry every time. I reached down and brushed the tear away from her face as everyone came up to meet her. I walked over to Rick as I watched my family talk to Kinsley and welcome her with open arms. I was able to overhear what a bunch of them were saying.

Maggie and Glenn came up first together and said to her, "Hi. I'm Maggie and this is my husband, Glenn. Glenn's known your dad since the beginning of this thing and I met him not long after. He would do anything to protect all of us. You really do have an amazing father. Welcome to our family. We love ya kiddo." They gave her a hug and let the next in line come up.

Abraham, Rosita, Tara, and Eugene all came up together and Sasha followed them. I didn't catch their conversation, but she smiled after they finished talking, so I assumed it was nice.

Michonne came up with Carl next. Michonne pinched her cheeks and said, "My God, you look so much like your father. You are just adorable. It'll be good to have another Dixon around. Your dad has saved our asses more than I can even count. Welcome to our family, we're glad to have you."

Kinsley looked at me and giggled. I just winked at her. I knew she was going to fit in great here.

Carol came up last. The way she interacted with Kinsley was amazing to watch. Something about that woman, she was so good with kids. She leaned in and whispered something in Kinsey's ear and then they both busted out laughing. Lord knows what that woman said to her. I was smiling watching these two interact. Kinsley seemed to loosen up and cut up with everyone. Carol gave her a hug and stood beside her still in conversation.

Maggie stood up and asked Kinsley, "Are you going to the party tonight?"

"No. I'm not really the party type. I'll probably stay home and read or something."

"Come on! You have to go!" Maggie looked and winked at Michonne and Carol. They were cooking something up but I had no idea what.

Maggie came and took Kinsley's arm and dragged her out of the house with Carol and Michonne following them.

Rick looked at me and laughed. "Kinsley stands no chance with those girls. You know she's going to that party now. Daryl come over to my house, I have something I need to give to you and something I need to talk to you about."

I followed Rick out of my house and couldn't help but smile. Kinsley was going to be just fine here.

 **Thanks for reading! Please review and follow!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Surprise two chapters in one day! Hope you all enjoy.**

Rick and I walked to the party with the rest of the family. Kinsley had yet to come back, but I knew she was in good hands. I guessed they were just going to meet us there.

We all got settled at the party and I found a drink of wine. I just sat at the bar with Rick and waited on the girls to arrive.

The door opened and my jaw dropped. Carol walked in first and winked at me. That damn blue dress. She looked breathtaking. Behind her came Kinsley. She had on a black, glittery dress that looked absolutely amazing on her. She looked like a totally different person, so much older. The girls had curled her brown hair and it now sat at her muscular shoulders. They had also done her makeup and her red lipstick stood out from across the room. She looked absolutely beautiful, so much like her mother.

Maggie found Glenn and Michonne went to the food table. Carol and Kinsley had their arms around each other as they walked up to me. They had hit it off fast. Kinsley came up and hugged me and Carol gave me a kiss on the cheek.

Kinsley looked up at me, "They may have won with the dress and makeup, but I fought and wore the shoes I wanted to."

I looked down and found myself laughing when I saw she was wearing converse. That was definitely my girl. I pulled both of them in for a hug. I was a blessed man.

The jazz music that was playing in the background changed to slow. I looked at Kinsley, held out my hand, and asked her, "May I have this dance?"

She smiled, grabbed my hand and we took on the dance floor, surrounded by couples. I couldn't help looking at my Kinsley. I still couldn't believe this was happening. I had my daughter right here dancing with me. Kinsley moved in closer and just rested her head against my chest. A tear escaped from my eyes, I didn't want this moment to end.

Rick came out to the dance floor with Carol and looked at me. I knew that I needed to go through with what we had talked about earlier that day, it was the right thing. I cleared my throat and got the current DJ, Jessie, to turn down the music. Kinsley looked up at me confused and I whispered to her, "Just stand beside me."

All eyes turned on me and I became super nervous. I didn't like to be the center of attention especially with people I didn't know very well.

I was finally able to get the words out, "I wanted to thank all of you guys for helping keep my daughter safe. I have dreamed of being with her since I had to leave her and because of you guys I am able to have this moment. I would also like to thank my family for welcoming my little girl with open arms. With everything we have been through, I know how hard it is for you all to let someone in that easily, but you did with her and it means the absolute world to me. As you guys know I have never had the parenting experience before, but I know that I will not be in it alone. I have all of you guys to figure this out with."

At this moment I turned and faced Carol. Was I ready for this? Of course I was, it was just Carol.

"Carol, this is hard for me to say because as you know I am not an open book. I rarely share my emotions, but you, you have been able to get to me. A woman like you deserves everything in the world. Carol, the way you interacted with Kinsley was truly amazing. You deserved to be a mom, I just wish this world would have seen that. Carol I can't do this alone. I have no clue what I am doing, but you've done it before. I know Kinsley is almost an adult, but she still deserves a set of parents to finish raising her."

I started to fumble around in my pocket for the box Rick gave me as I got down on one knee. A million questions were running through my head, but I knew this was the right thing. I had loved this woman ever since I saw her put the ax in her husband's head. We had been through hell and back together. She brought out the best in me, I just didn't know why I hadn't done this earlier. I guess Kinsley kind of brought us together finally. I would have to thank her for that later.

As I got down on one knee Carol began to cry. I knew then that she wanted this, too.

I began to finish, "Carol you have been by my side since the day we met back in Atlanta. We have saved each other's asses so many times and I would probably be dead right now if it wasn't for you. You bring out the best in me and have supported me every day. You've accepted me for the way I am and I love you for that. Carol, I love you with all my heart and I may not have much to offer, but all that I do have is going to you and Kinsley. I have my girl now and I want to make my life complete. I should've done this a long time ago, but all I know is that I want you officially by my side until the day this shitty world takes me. So, not only do I want to ask you to help me with raising Kinsley in this hell of a world we are living in, but I want to ask you to be my wife so we can do this crazy life together. So, Carol Peletier, will you marry me?"

I felt like a fool for doing this in front of everyone, especially for asking her to basically be a mother to my child. With everything that happened with Lizzie and Mika, I knew how much that scared her, but hopefully since it was me, she would be okay with it. Carol and I had expressed our feelings to each other about a year ago when I found her at the Grady Memorial hospital, the day Beth died. And we had only kissed about five times, but nothing more, even though I wanted more, had happened. The way I felt about her would never change, though and I knew that with this crazy world you can never know what day could be your last, so I decided to get some balls and go for it.

All my fears were gone when I heard her say the three letter word I had dreamed of her saying one day, "Yes."

I placed the ring on her finger and stood up and kissed her.

Everyone cheered around us, but I paid them no mind. This kiss was different than the ones before. It was more than just love, it was relief and happiness all in one. I had made the right decision.

After the kiss broke, Carol smiled and hugged me and Kinsley joined us in the hug. She looked up at me and said, "I'm glad you chose her, I liked her." I just laughed and kissed the top of her head. The stories I had to tell her about me and Carol, but that would be for later. Right now I was all in the moment with my two girls. Damn I was a lucky man.


	7. Chapter 7

**I apologize for the lack of writing! Life has been very crazy for me as I have started college. I promise to be more regular now! Enjoy this next chapter!**

I woke up that next morning refusing to believe what happened the day before. I could not believe I was engaged to the woman of my dreams and that I was getting to play the role I had always wanted to, a father. It all became more real when I flipped over to that beautiful gray haired, blue eyed woman I fell in love with the day I met her at the campground in Atlanta.

"Good morning handsome."

"Good morning my beautiful fiancé. I still can't believe that I get to call you that."

She snuggled up real tight to me, but before she could answer the door swung wide open. Before I could think I felt someone jump on me. I looked up to see my beautiful daughter with the biggest grin across her face. I pulled her and Carol in close. I had to take advantage of every chance I could with my two beautiful girls. I was the luckiest man alive.

"I am headed to the gate for my shift, but I wanted to tell you guys good morning and that I love you both" Kinsley said.

As she left the room, I just sat and thought. I never ever thought that I would hear those three words from MY daughter.

Carol and I got up and went down for breakfast with the rest of the family. Rick would not stop winking at me as we came down the stairs. This was all so weird to me, but it was a good weird. As soon as Carol got the first pancake in her mouth, Maggie and Michonne rushed in and grabbed her arms, pulling her out the door. Lord knows what those women are up to, I can never keep up with them. It was good to see those smiles on all of their faces though. It had been a while since I had seen them this happy.

"Carol close your eyes!" Maggie said.

"What in the world are you guys up to? Where are we?"

Carol heard a door swing open as the girls pulled her into this mysterious room. Michonne removed her hands from Carol's eyes and what Carol saw caused her heart to drop and fall in love all at once.

"Oh my gosh! Guys where did you find this?" Carol said.

Maggie replied, "We found it in the warehouse last night after you agreed to marry Daryl."

Carol had no words as she looked at the long, beautiful, white wedding dress hung up in front of her. It was everything she dreamed of in a wedding dress, even more beautiful than the one she walked down the aisle in to marry Ed. It was a v-neck, but not low enough to show too much, enough to show just enough. It was silk and long, flaring out at the bottom into a beautiful train. The dress had a beautiful veil as well. Carol could not believe something this beautiful survived the apocalypse.

"Would you wear it to your wedding?" Michonne asked.

"Of course! It is absolutely beautiful, but I don't even know when the wedding will be, so I don't want to get too excited over it."

"Well, Rick is going to talk to Daryl and try to convince him to tie the knot this weekend. He wants to take Daryl to the warehouse to look for a suit and a wedding band today. It is totally up to you, but what is the point in waiting in this world. You never know if you will get tomorrow" Maggie said.

"I may sound crazy for saying this, but okay! I've never been so sure about being with someone and his little girl has already stolen my heart."

Rick had convinced me to marry Carol this weekend and they had set the date for Saturday at 2. We just needed to tell Kinsley now.

Kinsley walked in from her shift, looking tired as ever. She looked confused when she saw Carol and I both sitting down at the table waiting on her to eat dinner.

"You guys didn't have to wait up for me!"

"No, of course we did, we're family now. How was your day?" I said.

"It was okay. I took down around five walkers, but nothing too exciting."

"Well at least it wasn't stressful. Kinsley, we need to run something by you. In this world we live in now, we do not know what tomorrow brings or even if there will be a tomorrow. Rick, Maggie and Michonne convinced us to get married this weekend and we wanted to make sure that would be okay with you. If it isn't, we totally under-" I said.

Kinsley interrupted him, "Dad, I would love for you to marry her. I have already witnessed the love you guys have for each other and I've never seen anything like it before, not even with my mom and step-father. It's just going to be nice to have my father and a motherly figure back in my life again. It gets kind of lonely by myself. Okay, I am going to take a shower and hit the bed, but know that I totally support this decision. Love you both!"

I knew from the look in Carol's eyes that something was not right.

"Carol, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"Carol, you don't have to do that with me. You know that."

"I'm sorry its just hearing someone refer to me as a mother kind of brought back bad memories. I just feel that I have bad luck with children Daryl. I mean, I wasn't watching Sophia well enough and you saw what happened to her. And then later on I lost Lizzie and Mika. Daryl, I just don't want anything to happen to your girl. I love her so much too, but I don't think I could bear to lose her and I know you couldn't either."

Gosh the name Sophia. To hear her say that name again broke my heart.

"Carol, Sophia's death was not your fault. You did all you could to protect that little girl. You were an amazing mother and no one can take that away from you. Lizzie was sick and there was nothing you could've done about that either. Carol, you are a natural with children, you are a mother, that is who you are. You do not have bad luck with children, you did everything you could to protect them and teach them how to survive in this world."

"Daryl, I love you more than anything and I think that I will learn to love that little girl too, but I cannot bear to lose her, not another child."

"Carol, I promise that will never happen. I will protect you and Kinsley until I die and I would give my life to protect you two. Plus, we are in a much safer place now."

Tears began to steam down her face and I wiped them away one at a time.

"Carol, I love you. That is one thing I am sure of and I know for sure I want to marry you this weekend. You are the only one for me, you are what this family needs. I cannot do this on my own."

"Okay."

Those were the only words I needed to hear. I pulled her in for a hug and carried her up to the bed.


	8. Chapter 8

Today was the day all of Alexandria was waiting for, Carol and Daryl's wedding.

It was morning and I was the only one up. I was downstairs drinking my morning cup of coffee. It was around 5 a.m. I couldn't sleep. I was marrying the woman of my dreams and my daughter would be there beside me. This was a dream come true. I was sitting there reading over my vows again for the hundredth time when I heard a soul-peircing scream. Kinsley.

I took off running to the stairs. A million thoughts started running through my head. God, what if a walker got her, but how would they have gotten in with the door locked. What if someone had climbed through her window and was murdering her right this moment? The feeling of knowing there was nothing you could do killed me. I reached the top step and the door to my left swung open. Carol. She had heard it too.

We opened Kinsley's bedroom door to find her laying in her bed flipping around, no covers on her, with sweat running down her face. She would not stop screaming and saying "No" over and over again. I looked right at Carol with pure terror in my eyes. I did not know what the heck was going on.

"It is just a nightmare. I will wake her."

I watched as Carol sat on the edge of Kinsley's bed. She shook her so softly and whispered her name. Kinsley's eyes shot open with an expression that looked as though someone had just stabbed her in the stomach. Tears streamed down her face immediately. I watched in awe, not able to bring myself to say anything, as Carol wrapped her arms around her and Kinsley laid her head in Carol's lap. Carol was a natural. There is no way I could do this parenting thing without her. I had so much to learn.

"It was just a dream. It was just a dream baby girl. I'm here now. It's going to be okay. You are okay."

Kinsley sat up with tears still rolling down her face. "It wasn't though, it was real. God, I felt like I was there again. Please make it stop."

"What do you mean? What happened Kinsley? Carol asked.

I made my way to the bed to sit beside her as Kinsley told us about the death of all her siblings. Tears started rolling down Carol's face as Kinsley told her about how her sister committed suicide right in front of her and how she witnessed her two brothers and parents die in the hands of that awful governor.

"My life before Alexandria was very dark. I tried to kill myself twice during the period where I was alone with no one, which was before Aaron found me, but I chickened out. I have witnessed things in my life that no one should ever witness. I have seen my sister shoot a bullet through her own skull, witnessing blood splatter all over her wall. I have seen my brother get shot by a hunter and have had to pick parts of his brain out of my hair. I saw my two oldest brothers on the road with nothing left of them but their clothes, little pieces of their bodies and heads. I saw the governor slice my own parents necks and strangle my twin baby brothers until they turned purple in the face and died. I put on this hard cover, but my story is breaking me inside. I am constantly reminded about my family's death and I can't even escape that feeling or those thoughts in my dreams" tears streamed down her face again.

Carol spoke up, "Kinsley, we all have a dark side. We are constantly reminded of our past and feel like we cannot escape it. I finally escaped my abusive husband five years ago when he was devoured by zombies. It was what he deserved, but Kinsley I still can't escape from him. He is in my dreams, too. He comes and he won't leave. In my dreams, he will put his hands around my neck trying to choke me, saying I am a horrible person and don't deserve to be alive. The truth is Kinsley we can never truly escape our past, but our past does not define us. We move on and change and it sounds to me like you've changed for the better. Kinsley you protect this place and people you hardly know. You are a beautiful young woman who now has a father who would die for you and his soon-to-be wife who would do the exact same for you. You are so loved now, not just for your good side, but for your dark side, too. You never have to hide that from us."

The two hugged and I just sat back looking at how they interacted. These two were gonna bring out the best in each other. I still couldn't believe all this happened to my sweet girl, but I promised myself I would do all I could to help make her better.

I was now standing at the alter of Alexandria's church waiting on my beautiful bride to come down the aisle.

Maggie and Glenn came down first, followed by Michonne and Rick, Abraham and Rosita and then Tara and Aaron. My friends looked so beautiful and handsome. It was almost as if this world had stopped for a minute. Everyone forgot about the bad in this world for just a moment. This truly was what we all needed.

My heart stopped as I saw the doors open for my beautiful daughter. She was dressed in a beautiful blue dress that brought out her mother's beautiful blue eyes. God, that little smile just melted my heart. She already had me wrapped. Carl brought her down the aisle. I laughed as I saw my girl was still wearing those awful converses with the nice dress. I laughed again when I saw the lump on her hip under her dress. That crazy girl had hidden her knife under her dress. That's one thing she got from me for sure, her stubbornness. Kinsley came and stood beside me grabbing my hand and squeezing it.

The doors opened for the last time and I saw my beautiful bride. Her short hair was curled and hidden by a beautiful white veil. Her dress, gosh, it hugged her everywhere it needed to, showing off her curvy figure. She was truly beautiful. I couldn't help the tears coming from my eyes. I felt Rick's hand slap my shoulder.

She finally made it up to me and I grabbed her hands, whispering in her ear to tell her how beautiful she is. Gabriel told everyone to be seated and the ceremony started.

We got to the vows and my knees started to shake. I pulled out the folded paper from my pocked and started to read it. "Carol, you are everything I have wanted in a wife. The word wife has scared me since I was little, but it doesn't scare me with you because I know you are the right one for me. I fell in love with you the day I first saw you at the campground, but I fell more in love with you as I witnessed you grow into the strong woman you are now. You developed into the woman who everyone feared, not because you were scary, but because you had what a lot of us lack, courage and strength. I now witness you with my daughter who you were so quick to accept, take in and treat as though she was your own. The way you act with her is truly inspiring. I hope you can teach me to at least be half the parent that you are. Carol I love you so much and I absolutely cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Thank you for loving me for who I am and for loving my good side and my bad side. I promise I will love you forever."

Tears immediately started falling from her face. I smiled and wiped them from her eyes as Kinsley handed Carol her vows.

"Daryl, you are my soulmate. You taught me how to love again, how to be strong and overall how to survive in this world we live in. You let me in and accepted me when no one else did. You believed in me when no one else did. Because of you, I am still alive. Because of you I am more confident and I am able to live without fear. No one could be a more perfect match for me than you are. Thank you for now letting me in and become a part of your daughter's life. She reminds me so much of you, she is a free bird, selfless, a daredevil who loves a thrill, but also is calm and loving. I cannot wait to grow old with you and watch you develop as a person, but also as a parent. Thank you for loving me the way you do and for always being there for me. I promise I will love and support you for as long as I am here."

I felt myself start to cry. Man, I felt like such a wimp, but I honestly didn't care anymore. I was about to have everything I'd ever wanted.

We exchanged our rings and I finally got to kiss her sweet lips. Everyone cheered and we walked out the church as a family. Family-that is something I never thought I would have, especially not a whole and complete one.


	9. Chapter 9

**A couple months have passed at this point and we are now at the time of the Wolves group. Rick has just discovered the large herd of walkers near Alexandria.**

Daryl and Carol's front door swung open causing Kinsley to almost jump out of her seat.

"Gosh Rick, a knock would've been nice!"

"Sorry man. Daryl we need to talk now." Rick said.

"What's going on?" Rick sat down at the table with the family and told them about the herd of walkers that he had just discovered right outside of Alexandria.

"That is not safe. There are children here. We need to lead them away from here and blow them up or something." I claimed.

"I agree. Let's go round up some of the group and lead them away."

"I'll come with you guys" Kinsley said.

I told her she needed to stay there with Carol and help guard the home, but really I just didn't want her getting hurt since this was so dangerous. I knew she could handle herself, but I was still trying to keep my girl safe.

Things were going really well with the walkers. We had gotten them out and were leading them away from Alexandria. All of the sudden I heard a really loud noise that sounded just like a horn.

Rick looked at me, "Alexandria!"

My heart immediately dropped when I turned around to see all the walkers behind us now walking through the woods toward our home, toward my daughter and wife. I couldn't even warn them. I just prayed they were prepared for what was coming for them.

We all turned our cars around and raced back to Alexandria.

Kinsley and Carol were sitting at the table talking when they heard the sound. Kinsley shot up with pure fear in her eyes.

"What the hell?" she said.

"It sounds like a car horn. Is there someone outside the gate?" Carol said.

Kinsley put her belt of knives around her waist, Carol grabbed her gun off the counter and the two headed out to find out what the noise was. Their hearts stopped when they saw a large truck slammed into the walls surrounding their home.

All of the residents were outside at this point. Aaron walked outside the gates to turn the truck off and closed the gate back, at least he thought he did. He met up with Kinsley and Carol and they started walking back to their homes.

"Aaron, where did the truck come from?" Kinsley asked.

"I don't know, the person who was driving was a zombie by the time I got there. Must have been killed on impact."

An hour or two had passed by and Carol and Kinsley were sitting on the front porch. Carol was smoking a cigarette and Kinsley was asleep in the porch swing. All of the sudden they heard a piercing scream. Kinsley shot up, falling out of the swing and onto the porch. Carol couldn't help but laugh even in this moment of fear. The two took off running in the direction of the scream.

When they got there they saw three dead bodies and two men running in different directions after two other women.

The two looked at each other and said together, "Wolves!"

Kinsley grabbed a knife from her belt, nailing one in the head and spun around throwing another knife in the head of the other one.

Carol just watched in awe. She didn't understand how she was so good and accurate.

"There's gotta be more than just those two. I'll go to the left and you go to the right" Kinsley said.

"Okay, be careful" Carol said as she kissed the top of Kinsley's head.

The two went on in separate directions taking down as many of them as they saw. Gosh, they were everywhere. Kinsley went chasing after one down the steps of a house into the basement.

She threw a knife at him but he dodged it. He pulled out his gun and she threw another knife, hitting him in the hand, knocking the gun out of his reach. She took off at him and knocked him down. The man thought fast though, taking the knife out of his hand to stab her in the leg.

Kinsley screamed out in pain, but kept fighting him. The two wrestled for several minutes, but Kinsley finally got reach of his gun and shot him in the chest. She tried to get up but immediately passed out from the loss of blood.

The group and I came busting through the gates and saw the mess of dead bodies everywhere. My heart immediately dropped, where were Carol and Kinsley? Daryl took off running, bow in hand. I saw one of the dead bodies and noticed the W on their forehead. I became even more worried.

I turned the corner and ran hard into someone. When I opened my eyes, ready to shoot, I saw Carol right in front of me.

"Thank God."

I hugged and kissed her. "Carol, where's Kinsley?"

She burst into tears. "I don't know. We split up a while ago to search for more wolves. I've been looking for her for like 40 minutes and can't find her anywhere."

"It's okay, it's okay. We will find her."

We started checking house after house and almost gave up until we saw one of her knives laying outside the basement door of a house.

Carol must have saw it too because she took off down the stairs.

"I'll look for Kinsley and you search for whoever she was chasing" Carol said.

Carol turned the corner and found Kinsley unconscious.

"Daryl! She's in here."

"Kinsley, baby. Can you hear me?" Carol asked.

Her eyes blinked open.

"Oh my Kinsley your leg!" Carol said.

"I'm fine. It's just a scratch."

She tried to stand up, but immediately collapsed back into her dad's arms.

"Stubborn just like her dad." Carol laughed.

Daryl rolled his eyes and laughed. He picked Kinsley up and carried her to Denise.

She would be fine, she just needed some stitches.

Kinsley was on the doctor's table getting stitches. Carol and I were sitting on the steps talking.

Carol told me all about what happened, from the truck horn to Kinsley throwing knives like a professional. Daryl was just so proud of his two girls. He put his arm around Carol and kissed her head.


	10. Chapter 10

It had been a couple months after the wolves had attacked Alexandria. Those walkers we had been leading away from our home found their way to us, knocking down the wall and turning everything into a huge mess. We also had a new enemy, the Saviors, and we found a new friend in the community, the hilltop. A lot had changed in the past couple months, but the only thing keeping our family smiling was each other.

Carol had been going through a lot lately. She was struggling emotionally and I could tell. She was really distant and would cry herself to sleep almost every night. I would hold her every night rubbing her tears away and telling her that everything was gonna be okay, but it never seemed to be enough.

Kinsley wasn't home as much. Her and Carl had become best friends. They were always doing range practice together or just playing outside around Alexandria. Kinsley said he reminded her so much of her younger brothers.

That night we all sat down for dinner. Carol had made spaghetti, Kinsley's favorite. We all were eating and then halfway through Carol stood up and said she needed to shower and that she wasn't feeling great. I didn't think anything of it, but I guess I should have.

When I came upstairs, I kissed Kinsley on the top of the head, told her goodnight and went into my room. Carol was laying in bed asleep. Her lamp beside her bed was still on though. I noticed a notepad in her hand and a pen on the floor. I picked up the pen and then took the notebook from her hand. I noticed on the page a couple letters and then a total of 18 circled at the bottom. I sat on the floor trying to make since of what she was writing about when it finally clicked. The R probably stood for Ryan Samuels, Lizzie and Mika's father, the K and D for Karen and David which she burned when they were sick at the prison and the L stood for Lizzie, a death that she had yet to get over. There were several other people, too. I now understood that this was a list of people she had killed. Is this what had been eating at her these past couple weeks? I didn't understand. We had all killed and a lot of us had probably killed more people than her. I sat the stuff on her night stand and turned off her lamp. I then laid down beside her and went to sleep.

That next morning I woke up and flipped over only to find an empty bed. Where was she?

I went to our bathroom and found nothing. I went downstairs and checked every room and found nothing. Finally I just went into Kinsley's room and woke her up to help me look. I was heading out to look around when Kinsley yelled for me.

When I opened the door she was in tears. I stood beside her taking the note from her hand and reading it for myself.

"Daryl, when you read this I will be gone. I have been wrestling with myself for months now, which I know you have noticed and I thank you for being so kind to me. At this point, I cannot kill anymore, I have killed too many. I know that if I stay with the group, I will be forced to kill again and I don't know if I can take that. So, I have left. I am going to find a place where I can just take a break and escape this world of violence for a while. I will be back though, I can promise you that. I don't want you and Kinsley to think that I left because I don't love you enough. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone before and I love Kinsley as though she is my own daughter. I am doing this so that I can get back to being the wife and guardian to Kinsley that I need to be. I just need this for myself so that I can be fine again. I hope you can understand this. I love you. Until we meet again. Love, Carol."

I just dropped the note. I was so upset, but I also understood her. I hated seeing her so unhappy and I wished I could've prevented her from leaving. I burst into tears because that was all I could do at the moment. Kinsley threw her arms around me saying "All is well dad. She will come back. She loves you too much to leave you. We just have to be patient."

Gosh, I loved this kid. These next couple weeks without my wife would be horrible, but would hopefully be worth it in the long run.


	11. Chapter 11

It had now been a couple of weeks since Carol had decided to leave. Not a day went by when I didn't think of her. I spent most of my days wondering where she was or if she even was still alive. Kinsley was having a hard time, too. She missed her terribly. Every afternoon she would sneak outside the walls with Carl and they would go looking for her. Each day they ventured further and further but found no sign of her. When Rick and I found out about this we were furious. This world was too dangerous for two teenagers to be running around the woods in, especially with the Saviors around now. Plus, though it hurt me to say it, they needed to give Carol her space. I had to explain to Kinsley that even if she found her, she probably would refuse to come back.

"I just need her. I can't lose her like this, especially without saying goodbye. I miss her so much dad" she said.

"I know baby, I know." Tears began to run down my face. This was hurting me as much as it was her.

In these weeks since Carol left, I had been going out with Michonne and Glenn chasing after Dwight, a member of the Saviors. Kinsley freaked when I told her I would be leaving for a while because she hated being by herself, but it was what I had to do for our group. She screamed and cried when I left, but I knew she would be in good hands with the group. A couple days after leaving Alexandria, we had gotten caught by the Saviors and put in a trailer or van type thing. We had been in this place for around three days and it was miserable. For one, Dwight had shot me in the shoulder, so I was already weak from losing so much blood and we hadn't eaten or drank anything since being captured. By now the shoulder wound was probably infected, but I didn't care. I just needed to escape and get back to Kinsley. She probably thought I was dead by now.

Back at Alexandria, Maggie was having pregnancy complications. Since the death of our doctor, Denise, the only doctor we knew was the man at the hilltop. Her pain got so bad that the group had to help bring her to the hilltop. On their way, they were trapped time and time again by the Saviors and Maggie just got worse and worse. Their fear grew stronger, wondering if they would make it there in time or if they would even make it there period. Finally they had to leave the van behind and go on foot through the woods. Kinsley, Carl, Abraham, Rick and the rest of the gang helped carry Maggie on a stretcher. Little did they know they would be stopped by their worst nightmare- the Saviors and Negan.

As they were making their way through the woods, they kept hearing weird noises. Kinsley felt her stomach turn upside down and she knew immediately that something was wrong. The group must have thought the same thing because they all began to run. It wasn't enough though. They found themselves in an opening in the woods surrounded by the Saviors. They turned every which way, but every way they tried to go there were Saviors there to block them. They were trapped. Kinsley feared for all of their lives now. They couldn't escape and she feared for Maggie's life. She was still in so much pain and she looked awful. They were racing against time here. However, it wasn't Maggie's life that Kinsley needed to worry about.

The Saviors made them set the stretcher down and help Maggie to her knees. They forced all the rest of them to do the same. Kinsley tried to fight back, but they just slung her to the ground like it was nothing. Kinsley was scared, but she was thankful that her dad was not here so nothing bad could happen to him. Little did she know that she was very wrong.

Kinsley sat there on her knees with tears streaming down her face. Would she see her mom and dad again? Was this the end for her? Her thoughts were interrupted when the Saviors slung open the doors to the trailer. She looked up and her heart dropped immediately. Her eyes met my now weak eyes and she screamed, "No! Dad!" She got up and ran towards me, but they hit her in the back with a stick, bringing her right back to the ground. I screamed and tried to run to her but they held me back. One of the Saviors picked up Kinsley and sat her back down where she was before. They then sat me on the opposite side, far away from my daughter. Her eyes kept looking over at me with a sense of fear in her eyes that scared me. I couldn't protect her right now and that killed me. I was able to mouth the words, "All is well baby" before they sat Glenn down beside her.

Next thing we know the doors of an RV swung open and out walked our worst nightmare-Negan. He gave this long lecture about how he didn't like how we had been killing his people and that one of ours was gonna pay for that. Rick tried to talk him out of it, but nothing worked with this asshole. My mind was going back and forth, I couldn't think straight. I just kept thinking about what if Kinsley was the one that he chose to kill, especially since they all knew that she was my daughter now. They were already furious with me because I killed a bunch of their people. What if they took this out on her? I couldn't live with myself then. And then I got to thinking what if they killed me? Kinsley would never be able to live this down, especially a death as brutal as getting my head smashed in with a barbed wire bat.

Negan told us that he was going to play a little game with us and started going around our group saying "eenie, meenie, minie, mo." My heart ached each time it landed on one of my family members. Eugene flinched every time, just like the coward he is and acted like he was gonna burst into tears. Carl, Aaron, Rick, Abraham, Glenn and I just sat there trying to look unaffected when the bat was put in our faces. Sasha, Rosita and Michonne tried to act tough, but you could tell deep down that they were on the edge of a breakdown. Maggie just looked absolutely pitiful and then when it landed on Kinsley I lost it. Even though it hadn't stopped on her, I still felt like I was gonna lose her. I felt awful. I started to blame myself. If I had never told her that I was her father, she wouldn't be in this mess because she wouldn't be involved in this group. If I had never left her to go chase down Dwight, I could've been there to protect her. I felt like a failure and that I had let her down.

Finally after a minute or two of this stupid game, the bat landed on Abraham. Everyone's eyes got big and we all just froze because we didn't know what to expect. Then I heard a crack. This sound would be engrained in my head forever. It was the most horrible and chilling sound I'd ever heard. It made every hair on my body stand up. When Abraham sat back up, taking it like a man, I couldn't help but make eye contact with Kinsley. Tears were pouring down her face at this point and she was covering her ears. She would never live this down and it was my fault. After two swings at Abraham's head, he fell down dead.

Rosita was obviously tore apart since she was with him for so long. Negan, being the piece of crap that he is, shoved the bat in her face, taunting her. I became furious and I just couldn't hold it in any longer. I got up and punched Negan in the face. As soon as I did it, I knew it was a horrible mistake. He told me someone was gonna pay for this. He turned around and swung the bat into the head of Glenn, who was right beside Kinsley. With each hit, Kinsley tried to scream, but nothing could come out of her mouth. She was balling crying at this point. His blood was all over her and her clothes and I could see pieces of his brain in her hair. Negan took several swings at Glenn until there was nothing left. Maggie's face killed me. I instantly felt a sense of guilt rush over me like a wave at the beach. I had caused the death of her husband and soon to be father of her child. I was a monster.

I took another look at Kinsley and at this point she was rocking back and forth with her hands over her face. She had just witnessed something no one in their life should have to witness, especially someone that young. My thoughts were ripped from my head when I felt someone grab my arms. Dwight had grabbed me and pulled me to my feet.

"You're coming with us to pay for your stupid act of disobedience" he spat in my face.

All of the sudden I heard my girl scream. She yelled "No, no! Please!" over and over. She was balling crying once again. I began to cry too because I just knew this would probably be the last time I would see her.

She took of running towards me and I instantly feared that Negan would swing that stupid bat around and kill her too, but he didn't. He let her run up to me. She hugged me and hung on to me like she would never let go. I just kissed her on the top of her head and said, "Kinsley, look at me." She looked up at me with those beautiful blue eyes, just like her mothers. I started to cry again. Gosh how I would miss those beautiful eyes and her contagious smile and her crazy laughter. This was a goodbye I never thought I would have to say. "Hey, all is well, remember." I finally got a part of a smile from her. That was what I needed to get me through all that was coming my way.

I told her, "Listen to me. I will be fine. You take care of yourself, you hear me. Stay with the group, they will take care of you and protect you. Kinsley, go find Carol, too. You're gonna need her now more than ever and it's time she comes home anyway. You stay strong and remember everything I have taught you. I love you more than words could ever describe."

All she could get out at this point was, "I love you too dad. Stay alive."

"May we meet again sweet girl."

Negan broke us up as she gave me one last hug. "That's enough of this crap for now."

I watched the doors shut on the trailer and I slowly saw Kinsley disappear. I broke down in that trailer. I lost it. I started punching the walls. I punched until my knuckles were bloody and raw. And then I just fell to my knees crying like a baby. I couldn't let this be the last time I saw her. I couldn't.

Back in the woods, Kinsley sat on her knees still crying. Carl came up behind her and put his arms around her. She turned around putting her head on his chest. He just sat there being the friend he needed to be, patting her back and telling her that I was gonna be alright. Finally he told her it was time to go. He helped her up and they walked back to where the rest of the group was. Maggie sat there crying over Glenn's dead body blaming herself that they were out there in the first place. Sasha, Rosita and Eugene all helped carry Abraham's lifeless body away. Maggie refused to get any help and just wanted to stay there with Glenn.

Kinsley and Carl came up to her and Carl said, "He's our family, too. Let us help you."

She finally stood up, hugging both of their necks.

"I'm so sorry Maggie" Kinsley said. Maggie just hugged her, kissed the top of her head and started picking pieces of her husband's brain out from Kinsley's hair. They both rubbed the tears away from each other's faces and Kinsley helped Maggie walk back to the stretcher.

Aaron, Carl and Rick all picked up Glenn carrying his body away, too.

This was a day that would be engrained in everyone's memory for as long as they lived.


	12. Chapter 12

The van ride to the Hilltop was completely silent. No one wanted to talk. No one even felt like talking. They were all either grieving or just trying to process what all had just happened. When they got back in the van, Maggie just laid her head on Kinsley's lap and they both cried together. Maggie mourned over the loss of her loving and amazing husband. Kinsley mourned because she just knew in the back of her mind that she would never see her dad again. It wasn't fair, she thought. It wasn't fair that she had just met him a couple months ago and this man, this stupid man was going to take him away from her. Even though she was living in a zombie apocalypse, a living hell, her life was perfect for just that short time because she had her father and she had Carol, who made the idea of a perfect family real for her.

They had been back at the Hilltop for a couple nights now. Kinsley could not sleep. She flipped over and over every night and when she finally went to sleep, the nightmare of the bat's sound and the image of blood splattering from Abraham and Glenn's head woke her up. She couldn't take this anymore. She shot out of bed, knowing what she needed to do. She started packing a book bag. She put some clothes in there to last her around two days. She went downstairs and grabbed some food out of the pantry, filled her water bottle up in the sink and then grabbed an extra bottle. She cleaned her knives and then went outside to the armory. She grabbed one of the group's guns and grabbed two boxes of bullets. When she stepped outside, Carl stopped her in her tracks.

"Where are you going in the middle of the night Kins?"

Kins is what he called her. They really had become the best of friends.

"I need to get Carol back. I really need her now more than ever. She always knows how to calm me down and comfort me. Carl, I haven't slept in days and I am haunted by the images of those two brutal deaths and I am haunted by the fact that my dad could be fighting for his life right now or even be dead. I know Maggie won't let me go so I am going to climb the back fence. Please don't make this harder than it needs to be."

"I won't, but you know it's not safe out there, especially now that you're leaving in the middle of the night. Do you even know where she is?"

"No but I know what direction she went in. I am sure I will find her" she said.

"She could be miles from here. Take a car. I want to come with you, but I know there's no way you will let me. Take the green Hyundai. It's up near the gate. It won't make a sound when you start it, just don't turn the headlights on until you get out of the gates. It also has two containers of gas in the back if you need them. I will distract the night guards or knock them out or something."

"Thank you Carl. Thank you so much."

He hugged her and the two made their ways toward the gates.

"Stay safe you hear me. Bring her home."

"I will."

Kinsley had been driving for two days now, not really knowing where she was going or how she was going to find Carol. She was exhausted and was about to the point of giving up when she saw a sweater on the left side of the road. Her heart stopped- Carol's sweater. She stopped the car and ran over to it. There was no sign of blood, so she must have just accidentally dropped it. She turned in all directions, wondering what way she would've gone. She trusted her instincts and just kept driving forward.

Finally, she came across a little house on the side of the road that was surrounded by a little gate. She almost kept going, but something in her heart told her that this was it.

She pulled over on the side of the road and walked down the little stone walkway up to the front door. She felt so many emotions at this point. She was excited, hoping that Carol was there. She hadn't seen her in weeks at this point. She was scared. What if it wasn't her? What if she found her dead in the house? She pulled herself together and knocked on the door. She heard footsteps and put her hand on one of her knives just incase it wasn't Carol. She sighed in relief when she saw a familiar face peek out the door.

"Oh my. Kinsley. What? How?" Carol said with tears building up in her eyes. Oh how she had missed this girl.

Kinsley couldn't even get words out and she just collapsed in Carol's arms, balling her eyes out.

Carol helped her inside and sat her on the couch.

"Kinsley what's going on? Wait. Where's Daryl? Why isn't he with you? Why are you all alone? Wait don't tell me he's..." Carol couldn't bring herself to say that last word.

"No. At least not that I know of."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we were trying to get Maggie to the Hilltop because she was having contractions or something. Well the whole way there the Saviors kept stopping us and finally we had to get out of the van and try to walk. When we did, they surrounded us. They lined us all up and I was relieved because dad wasn't there, but then they opened the doors to a trailer and he was in there. He had went out a couple days before all this with Michonne and Glenn to try to stop Dwight, but I guess they were captured. Anyways, this bastard named Negan, who is apparently the leader of the Saviors, came out and told us we were gonna have to pay for killing a bunch of their people in the outposts. Well he started doing this eenie, meenie, miney, mo game with his barbed wire-wrapped bat he calls Lucille. The bat landed on Abraham and he told us we couldn't move or scream or he would kill Carl. Then he swung the bat and oh that sound Carol, I will never get over it."

She placed her hand on Kinsley's knee, hoping it would give her some kind of comfort.

"He hit him in the head and killed him. He killed him with a freaking bat! Well then this bastard started taunting Rosita and dad got pissed. He ran up and punched Negan in the face. They slung him back down and turned around and slung the bat into the head of Glenn who was right beside me. Carol, it was awful. Be glad you weren't there. His blood covered me and pieces of his brains were in my hair! He just hit him over and over again. He wouldn't stop. There was nothing left of his head by the time he was done."

At this point Kinsley lost it. She started rocking back and forth just like she did that night. Just thinking of that night killed her.

Carol grabbed her and hugged her tightly. Kinsley just laid her head in Carol's lap. Carol strung her hands through Kinsley's hair, just like Kinsley's mom used to. She told her over and over again that everything would be alright even though she knew her girl would have the hardest time getting over this.

"So where is your dad Kinsley?" Carol asked.

"Oh. Sorry. Well Dwight took him back with them. They said that he was going to pay for his disobedience. Carol I know how awful these people are. I witnessed what they did to Abraham and Glenn. I cannot let them do that to dad. I couldn't live with myself. I'm so scared. I can't lose him."

"You won't baby. You won't. He is a fighter. I know, I have seen him in action for the past eight years. He knows how to take care of himself" Carol said.

"I know, but you don't know these guys. They're horrible. Anyways, that's why I came to find you. Carl helped me sneak out of the Hilltop. I had to see you and try to get you to come back home. We need you. I need you. I can't sleep. I can't go to sleep because I just keep wondering if dad is alive and if he is what they're doing to him and if not how he died. I wonder if his death was as brutal as the two I witnessed. Then I cry. I cry so much and for so long that I cry myself to sleep. When I finally fall asleep, I am haunted by nightmares. I have repeating nightmares of that night. I just have to keep hearing that awful sound of the bat hitting our family member's skulls. I have to keep watching the blood pour out of Abraham's head. I have to keep watching Glenn's head turn into nothing but something that looks like mashed up meat. I have to keep watching Maggie's face when she witnessed her husband be brutally murdered right in front of her. Carol I can't do it anymore. I feel so alone. I need you. Please come home."

Carol just cried. She couldn't even say anything. She felt awful. She should've been there. She should've never left. It should've been her there, not Kinsley. She should've had to watch this awful scene, not this innocent and sweet girl. She owed it to her. She wasn't sure she was ready to come back and fight yet, but she knew she was ready to fight for her husband and new daughter. She was ready to be the mother she needed to be to Kinsley. She needed to be strong for her, even though she felt the weakest she had ever felt before, but she would find a way to gain back her strength because Kinsley needed her to.

"Okay, baby. Okay."

Kinsley burst into tears. "Thank you mama. Thank you."

Kinsley didn't even realize what she had said. This had been the first time she called Carol mom. She had never called her step-dad "dad" because she wanted to save it to use for her real dad, but now that her real mom was dead, she didn't feel guilty saying it. Carol had been so much like a mom to her now. She had loved her as though she was her own. Kinsley knew that she deserved that title.

Mom, Carol thought. It had been so long since she had been called that. She had shut Lizzie down back in the prison when she called her that, but here it felt right. She wasn't scared to be her mom.

"Of course. I love you Kinsley."

The two headed back to the Hilltop right away. Carol was greeted with hugs when she stepped out of the car. It did feel good to be back with her family. Her heart longed for Daryl, but she knew deep down that he was okay and that he would find a way back to her. She couldn't show weakness in front of Kinsley. She had to be strong and positive for her.

Carol had to lay in bed with Kinsley every night, calming her down before she went to sleep and staying there to be there for her when she woke up screaming and covered in sweat. She was there, rag in hand to dry her forehead off and wipe her tears away. She was there to hold her as she cried and to rock her back and forth until she fell back asleep, just like she used to do with Sophia. She had missed being a mom and Kinsley made it so easy. She loved this girl so much, so much that it kind of scared her.


	13. Chapter 13

I had been in this cell for what seemed like years now. I wasn't one to cry, but every day I did. I cried for the loss of Abraham and Glenn. I cried because I knew the death of Glenn was on my hands. I cried because I missed my girls. I cried because I was actually scared I would never see them again. I thought my life would end here in this awful cell.

My time here was miserable. I was stripped of my clothes, freezing all the time as my bare skin touched the cold cell floor and walls. Every day they played the same song over and over again to the point that it drove me insane. I was being tortured. I wasn't allowed to eat anything but dog food. I wasn't allowed to go outside and see the sun. I wasn't allowed to talk or do anything. At this point I felt so far gone that I didn't know if I would ever be the same.

One day, Dwight had left to go on a run and I was left in the cell by myself. I was going to be free I told myself. I found a way to escape. I ran and ran as fast as I could out of that place, but little did I know that Negan was ready and waiting on me. I ran smack into him and his crew. I was surrounded with no where to run. I knew this was the end, especially when I saw Negan with his bat in hand. The bat that killed Abraham and Glenn would end my life, too.

I wondered what death by this bat felt like. I wondered how bad it would hurt. I wondered if you felt it rebound against your skull. I wondered how many strikes it would take to my head to end me.

I was surprised when Negan decided not to bash my head in and let his men beat me up. They beat me up so bad I almost wished I was dead. They punched me everywhere and they kicked me in the stomach so many times I almost puked. I was bleeding everywhere and felt that I had some broken bones.

I was thrown back into that awful cell once again, listening to that stupid song. The last thing that Dwight did to me would be the one that would break me. He opened my cell door and threw in polaroid pictures of Glenn's lifeless body. This broke me. Seeing this again tore me up. I had caused this death. I had caused the death of one of my best friends all because I couldn't control my stupid temper.

I had sat in my cell for a couple more days, crying so much that my eyes ached. Finally my cell door was opened and Dwight was standing there. I just flipped over refusing to say anything. He came in and forced me to stand again.

"Who are you?" he said.

He wanted me to say Negan of course, but I refused once again. Of course he got mad, just as he always did. He hit me and asked why I couldn't do it, why I couldn't say just one word. I told him why. I told him that I was thinking of someone else, just like he was the day he took my bike. He seemed to understand at this point, finally. He understood why I couldn't do it. You could see a total change in his facial expressions.

"Go" he said.

"I'll distract Negan. Go out the exit door that leads to the fence with the walkers inside. I will take over the watch tower, so no one will see you. I'm going to go talk to the guy who's on next shift and I'll be back in a couple minutes. Go ahead and walk down the hallway to the exit, but listen, don't talk to anyone. Keep your head down and don't make a noise. I'll wave you on in the tower. Good luck out there Daryl."

I couldn't believe this was finally happening. I was getting out of this hell hole. I threw some clothes on and I made my way down the hallway, waiting at the door for Dwight's signal.

I finally saw it and opened out the door. The sweet smell and feeling of freedom. I was finally free! However, I couldn't take another step. I couldn't leave Dwight here alone. I waved my arm in a way that signaled him to come with me. He agreed and came flying down the steps after me. We both hopped on bikes and made our way out of there.

I couldn't hold in my excitement. I couldn't wait to see my girls. I was still worried though. I was worried that Kinsley didn't make it back to the Hilltop. I was worried that she never found Carol and that I would be coming home to no one. Most of all though, I was worried what the group would think about me bringing Dwight back home. Only time would tell.


	14. Chapter 14

Dwight and I had been driving for around two hours and we were flying. I was driving so fast because I was just ready to be back with my family. My heart ached to see them again. I missed my brother Rick. I missed Carl's crazy self. I missed Maggie's sweet laugh. I missed Eugene's ugly mullet. I missed everyone of course, but I missed Kinsley and Carol the most. I missed Kinsley's sweet smile that could light up a room, I missed her contagious laugh, I missed her comforting hugs, I missed her bad mouth that was just like mine, I missed laughing at Carol trying to tell her to watch her mouth and I missed hearing her sweet voice sing 80s rock songs in the shower. There was no denying that she was mine. I missed Carol's beautiful eyes that I could look at forever, I missed her sweet smile, too, I missed her comforting hands and her sweet voice. I missed my two girls more than anything in the whole world. They were everything to me.

We finally reached the tall gates of the Hilltop and my stomach did a backflip. I was excited, but I was also nervous. I was nervous that they wouldn't be there and I was nervous that the group wouldn't accept Dwight. I calmed down when a familiar face popped up over the fence. Maggie smiled at me and yelled at them to open up the gates.

I drove in through the gates and parked the bike. Kinsley must have heard the engine of my bike because I saw her running full speed out of the house, pony tail swinging and all. I couldn't help myself. I took off running to her. We met in the middle and she jumped in my arms, swinging her legs around my waist. She cried in my shoulders and I cried into hers. I leaned up and kissed her head and a big grin appeared.

"I missed you so much" she said.

"I missed you, too baby."

I let her down and I felt a hand tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see the love of my life standing there. Kinsley had found her. I picked her up and she started crying with me.

When I let her down she muttered, "I am here for good now. No more leaving I promise."

I kissed her sweet lips and drew both my girls in for a hug. Gosh how good it felt to have both of them back with me.

Rick came up and gave me a hug, as did the rest of the group. It really did feel good to be back. Rick's face changed though when he saw Dwight standing back at the bikes.

"What the hell is he doing here" he said.

"Rick, it's okay. He helped me escape."

"Okay that's fine, but I still need to take precautions. Understand?"

I just nodded my head. I felt awful that they were gonna put him in a cell. I knew how awful it felt, but we had to make sure that he wouldn't turn on us.

That night was the best night of my life. I got to share a bed with the love of my life and got to sleep with her in my arms. I had my girl on a mattress on the floor. Lord, I never would've thought this, but I loved being a family man.


	15. Chapter 15

Our group took a couple days off after I had come back. We had finally made our way back to Alexandria. These past two weeks had been a rough time for our family. We were finally ready to start fighting again and we were meeting today to talk about the plans for knocking out the Saviors.

That afternoon before the meeting, Kinsley and I went on a run for some food. Kinsley had taken a liking to Dwight's bike and since he was in the prison at Hilltop anyways, she started riding it. It was cool to have something that we could do together. She was a daredevil just like me though and sometimes it truly did scare me. She loved to fly on that thing and the grin it brought to her face was like no other.

That afternoon we rode side by side going around 75 down the country roads. Every time she looked over at me and laughed her contagious laugh with her long hair blowing in the wind, my heart melted. I never knew that someone could make me so happy. Lord did I love my girl. She reminded me so much of myself that it was weird. She was like a little Daryl. She was fearless and blunt, but she was also kind and loving, which she obviously got from her mother.

We grabbed some food from the grocery store we had found a couple weeks back and headed home. The way home we raced seeing who could get back first. Kinsley truly had picked up riding quick almost as if it was in her bones. She sped past me, cutting in front of me and speeding off. I just laughed and followed her into the gates of our home.

She jumped off the bike with the biggest grin on her face and started laughing. I just shook my head. We headed off to Rick's house for the meeting and joined Carol on the way.

Rick told us all the plan of going to the Savior's headquarters and shooting up the place, trying to kill as many as possible. My heart dropped. I was ready to fight and end this all, but I knew Carol was not. I feared for her and I feared for Kinsley. The saviors are so dangerous and I couldn't bear having either of them hurt, but I knew there was no way I could prevent them from going. They were both hard-headed.

We rounded up that next day in cars and headed off in the fight of our life. Little did we know this was going to be an all out war. I drove my family into the battlefield. Kinsley had her knives wrapped around her waist in a belt and had a rifle and a box of bullets laying in the seat beside her. She was ready. She was fearless. I looked at her in the rearview mirror and gave her a nod. She gave me a thumbs up and smiled. Carol on the other hand I could tell was not feeling the same. I looked at her in the passenger seat and gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled back, but I knew it was a fake front. She was acting like all of this was okay, but I knew deep down she was not okay with it. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it as we drove into the doors of the headquarters.

We all lined our cars up and had big metal things in front of them to serve as protection. Saviors started coming outside and we all shot up.

"Fire!" Rick said.

We all started shooting, killing as many as we could. I looked over at my girl as she was so concentrated, aiming and firing. Carol was holding up as well as she could, shooting and then ducking down when they fired back. We killed so many and it calmed down for a while. All of the sudden Rick started shooting at all of the windows. We all were unsure what he was doing, but just followed anyways.

Next Negan came out on the balcony. I saw Kinsley noticed first as she lowed her gun from the windows to right at him.

"Die you bastard" she said as she released her hand from the trigger. She barely missed, as the bullet skimmed his arm. He ducked down in pain.

"You're gonna pay for this little girl" Negan screamed as he ran back inside.

Kinsley just laughed at him. That girl truly was not scared of anything. She reloaded and shot him once again in the back of the arm as he was running inside. He turned around and threw up his middle finger at her. She returned the favor, flicking him off as well. She aimed her gun, ready to fire again but he disappeared from her sight.

We noticed that the saviors we had already killed were turning so we all loaded up into the cars and headed back to Alexandria. Rick told us that those zombies should hold them up for at least a couple days and we could come back and finish this. We almost had them and we were going to end this real soon.


	16. Chapter 16

Little did we know that the saviors would retaliate and so quickly. That next night, Tara, Carol, Rosita and I drove to the Savior's headquarters again and tried to kill some more of them. Our attack was successful, but it wouldn't hold for long.

Carl and Kinsley were back at Alexandria with some of the other Alexandrians. I thought that everything would be okay without me there protecting her since the Saviors were surrounded , but I was very, very wrong. We had not made it back to Alexandria when all hell broke loose. Negan and some of his men had gotten out and were right at the gates of our home.

Carl and Kins were sitting at the dinner table laughing when they heard a loud horn noise. Kinsley's eyes widened and they both took off running out of the door. There at the gates stood their worst nightmare.

"Kins, go round everyone up and take them to the underground sewer. You all will be safe there. They'll never find you. I'll join you soon."

"No. I am not leaving you. They'll kill you Carl" she said.

He touched her face with both of his hands and brought her in for a hug.

"Trust me. I can try to persuade them to not attack or at least not yet." he said.

She nodded and took off running to get everyone to safety. Little did she know that her and her best friend would be heroes that night.

Kinsley ran as fast as her legs would allow her. She went house by house and then led her people into the sewers. She wondered if her parents were okay since the Saviors had escaped, but she couldn't think about that yet. Kinsley helped every one into the sewers as quickly as she could. She knew she did not have much time.

She was right. As the last person made it to the bottom of the sewer, she heard the first explosion. She turned around to one of the houses lit on fire. More and more bursted up in flames.

"No! Carl!" Kinsley screamed.

She took off running trying to find him. She knew that Carl couldn't convince them to not attack, but she didn't think that they would try to kill him. She reached the gates and saw Carl at the bottom limping away from the gate. He had fallen.

"Thank God!" she said.

"I'm sorry Kins. I tried so hard."

"It's okay. C'mon we have to get to safety before they burst through these gates."

She ran to his side and helped carry him to the sewer system. As they ran, tears streamed down Kinsley's face. Their home was being destroyed. The home where she learned to be stronger than she ever believed she could be. The home where she made so many friends, but most importantly the home where she met her family. She was truly afraid. She feared her family's lives and her own life.

They made it to the sewer system safely and she helped lower Carl down. He was hurt, she knew he was. Kinsley turned when she saw Carl's eyes widen at the sight of a Savior. Kinsley reacted fast, throwing a knife into his head. They then both climbed down and sealed the top.

He hugged her as they reached the bottom.

"Thanks for coming back to get me Kins."

"That's what friend are for" she smiled.

They walked through the sewer and made sure everyone was okay. At the end Carl collapsed and fell into Kinsley's arms.

"Carl. What is wrong?"

"Just sit me down please" he said.

"Just tell me. Did you hurt your leg? Do you need water? What is it!?"

"Kins I got bit" he cried out.

"Oh my gosh. No. No. You didn't. There's no way! There weren't walkers here. You're playing around. Stop that" tears started running down her face.

"Kins. Slow down. It's okay. It happened a day ago when I was helping that new guy, Siddiq, get back to Alexandria." He pulled her in for a hug as she cried into his shoulder.

She went and got him a bandage to put over the bite mark and sat there next to him for what seemed like hours. Her worst fear was that he would turn before Rick got back. She didn't think she could put a knife through his skull. She knew she didn't have it in her.

The gate at the end of the sewer popped open and she shot up, knife in hand ready to throw it. She dropped it in relief when she saw my face. She took off running into my arms, crying like a baby. I knew something was up. I had never seen her cry like this.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"Our home is destroyed. The houses are all on fire and and..." she couldn't get it out.

I looked at Carl and he lifted up his shirt, showing me the bite mark on his stomach. I now understood.

I just held her and told her it was going to be okay and that I was here now. Carol rushed to Carl's side with tears now streaming down her face.

"Daryl. There has to be something we can do. Can we cut the bite mark off? Please we can't just leave it."

I couldn't even get the word "no" out of my mouth. I just shook my head.

Rick came in next. This I couldn't bear to watch.

He broke down as Carl showed him the bite. Carol was on her knees holding Kinsley as she was shaking and crying. I had never seen Kinsley cry like this. Carol had tears streaming down her face as well. I just hugged them both and kissed the top of Carol's head. This would definitely take a long time for this family to get over. I feared for Kins and how she would get over this and if she would even get over it all. The two had truly become the best of friends.


	17. Chapter 17

The explosions had finally ceased after a couple hours. Rick was smart enough to know that the Saviors were still surrounding the gates, he just didn't know how to get us all out of the sewer without them knowing. Carl finally suggested that the sewer system had another entrance under a bridge farther away from here and that we could all get to the Hilltop safely that way.

I gathered everyone up, leaving Michonne and Rick with Carl. We all had to say our goodbyes and it was honestly one of the most painful things I had to go through. I tried to keep it together and be strong for him, but inside I was breaking.

"Carl, thank you for being such a good friend for my daughter. I will never be able to repay you for that. I am truly going to miss having you around man."

Kinsley went up to say her goodbye last and before she could say anything, Carl asked me if she could stay behind with them.

"I'll watch over her Daryl I promise. I will get her safely back to the Hilltop" Rick said.

I nodded, hugged Carl and kissed Kins on the cheek. We all left for the Hilltop.

Back at Alexandria, Kins, Rick and Michonne were spending their last couple minutes with Carl. Kins held his hand and refused to let go.

Carl asked them if he could say a couple words to them one by one to make the goodbyes easier.

He called his dad in there first, telling him how he should try to make peace with Negan for the good of the group. He met with Michonne next and told her how she had been like a best friend to her.

Kinsley pulled herself together and went into the room last. She knelt down beside him and lost it immediately. Carl grabbed her hand and told her everything was going to be okay.

"Kins, look at me. This world sucks and things like this happen sometimes. You can't let this destroy you or keep you from fighting and surviving yourself. Just as my mom told me, you're gonna beat this world. She was wrong with me, but you Kins, you're so much stronger than me. Heck, you're one of the strongest people I have ever met. You will beat this world. Keep fighting and never give up. Keep being the light that you are for this group. I love you so much. Thank you for being my absolute best friend. Promise you'll never forget me."

"I could never forget you Carl" she said as she pulled him in for a hug.

"Kins, listen, you have to carry on my legacy. Bring back the good in this world. You now have a perfect little family and together all of you can work together to make this world better. I want you to take the hat my dad gave me. May this always be a reminder of me and may it be a reminder to you to be the leader that this group needs. Yes, you're young, but Kins, you're so strong and so smart. You really could lead this group to do amazing things. The world is gonna need a leader like you."

Kinsley put on the hat and smiled.

"I promise I will Carl."

"Lastly Kins, you know that my dad and Michonne are not going to be able to end this for me. I do not wanna turn and I do not want y'all to see me like that. I want to end this before it is too late. Can you do that for me?"

"Carl, no. I can't" she cried.

He grabbed her hand and said, "Look, think of this as being your first step to being a stronger leader. You're gonna have to do things like this. You have to be strong for my parents. I know you can."

"Okay."

He called Rick and Michonne in one last time and kissed them goodbye. They left the two in the room alone once again.

Carl handed Kinsley the gun and she placed it against his skull. She grabbed his hand, kissed him on the cheek and said, "Goodbye Carl. I will never forget you."

She pulled the trigger and felt his hand fall limp in hers. She cried over his now dead body, realizing she had lost one of the best friends she would ever have. Replaying what he told her in her mind, Kinsley pushed the tears away and walked outside the room with a straight face. Rick and Michonne hugged her and they all three wept together.

They made it back to the Hilltop safely without any problems. Kinsley walked through the gates with Carl's hat on her head, feeling his strength with her already. She knew he was now watching over her and that brought a smile to her face.

I saw her come through the gates with his hat on and I felt my eyes tear up. I knew what it felt like to lose someone you care about. However, I knew Kinsley had Dixon blood, so she would stay strong for the ones around her and keep pushing to be what this group needed.


	18. Chapter 18

It been a week since the death of Carl. We all tried to be strong, but deep inside we were all still very upset. I could tell Kinsley was upset, but she would never admit it. She spent her free time now guarding the gates of the Hilltop, teaching others how to throw knives for when the Saviors attacked again and going on runs with me and Rick. She always wanted to be busy and I know this was because she was trying to distract herself from thinking about Carl. She was just like me, refusing to address her feelings. I still did not know what went down when all of us left for the Hilltop and left her with Carl. She was not ready to talk about that yet.

That afternoon I got back from a run and found Carol sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hey you're back early. How was the run?" she said.

"It was good. We had to take down around five walkers but Kins knocked those out within a minute. Carol, have you noticed anything weird about Kins or is it just me? She seems distant now and she rarely laughs or smiles anymore. I really think whatever happened when we left her with Carl is getting to her. I've asked her what's wrong, but she just tells me she's fine. I don't really know what to do. I really hate seeing her like this and I know my daughter and I can tell when she's hurting."

"I know. I've noticed it, too. I thought it was just her way of grieving and that she would shake out of it, but I just don't know. That's why I haven't said anything as well. I really think that we need to sit her down maybe tonight and try to talk to her. Maybe the both of us together can get to her. She needs to know that it is okay to express your emotions and not keep them balled up inside. I know what that feels like and it will eat you up alive" she said.

"I agree. We'll talk to her after dinner."

Kinsley came in from her shift at the gates and went straight to the shower. She was covered in dirt this time. Lord knows what she had been doing.

Around 15 minutes later she came down the steps with an old t-shirt and shorts on and her hair freshly combed. I kissed the top of her head as she sat down at the dinner table.

"How was your day kiddo?" I said.

"It was pretty good. I helped Maggie move some of the food to the cellar this morning and then I worked at the gates. I took down around 10 walkers but had to chase after a few."

That would explain the dirt she was covered in when she came in.

"Kins we want to talk to you about something" I said.

I looked at Carol for some help. She knew I wasn't good at this kind of stuff.

"What's going on baby? I know something is wrong, so don't try to tell me that nothing is going on. You don't smile anymore and you rarely laugh. I miss that side of you. Please tell us what is going on, we want to help you through this. That's what families are for" she said.

"I'm just having trouble dealing with Carl's death. I just can't believe he is gone."

"I know baby. You can't let it consume you like this, though. I know it sucks so much trust me, but you have to deal with it and move on. You're allowed to grieve, don't feel like you have to put on this hard cover. Being emotional and talking about it actually helps sometimes."

"I know. It's just hard to talk about sometimes."

"Trust me, I know. A couple years ago, my daughter Sophia died. Our group was stranded on the highway when a herd of walkers came through. We all had to hide under the cars. It was truly terrifying, but anyways a walker heard her under the car next to me and she took off running from him into the woods. Rick took off after her and hid her next to a river. He told her to stay there until he came back, but something must have scared her off because she did not stay there. We all came back a couple hours later and she was gone. We searched for days and then for weeks. I had lost all hope at that point, but your dad did not. He went out everyday, venturing further and further, looking for her. He never gave up. Then one day, we found out that the people who's farm we were staying at had been keeping walkers in their barn. The leaders of our group opened the barn doors, killing all the walkers. However, the last one to come out was my daughter. She had been bitten and was one of those God-awful creatures. Your dad held me and comforted me, but nothing was ever enough. It took me years to get over that. I still dream about that day sometimes and I can never truly escape it."

"Oh gosh. That's awful" Kinsley said with tears in her eyes.

"Then after we had left the prison we were staying at, two little girls came into my life. Their names were Lizzie and Mika. I was asked to be their guardian when their dad passed away. I loved those girls like they were my own. However, Lizzie was very sick mentally. She didn't understand walkers. She thought that once a person died, they would just come back as the same person, she didn't know that they were dangerous. I tried to explain it to her countless times, but she just didn't understand it. One day I came back from a run to scout the area and I found Lizzie standing there with a bloody knife in her hand and Mika laying there behind her dead."

Tears started rolling down Carol's eyes now. Kinsley grabbed her hand.

"Lizzie told me that she just wanted to show me what she was talking about. I beat myself up for days telling myself that if I would've just told Lizzie that I understood, maybe none of this would've happened. Anyways I decided that Lizzie was no longer safe to be around. She could've come after Judith next or even me. So, I took her out to the woods and shot her in the head. I had lost two more special people to me. I'm telling you this Kinsley because I want you to see that I've dealt with people close to me dying and I've let it consume me, too. See that's when your dad comes in."

She looked at me and smiled, her eyes still filled with tears.

"Kinsley your dad is what helped pull me out of my depression. As I said earlier, it took me years to get over it. Daryl sat me down and told me what I am about to tell you now. He told me that yes, it is hard to get over the death of someone so close to you, but you can't let it consume you. He told me that Sophia, Lizzie and Mika would have wanted me to be happy and not be so sad and depressed all the time. Kinsley, Carl would've wanted you to be happy and move on, too. I know you miss him like crazy, but cherish the time you had together and use that to get you through this rough time. Know that me and your dad are here for you in this awful time and that when you're ready, we're here to listen and help you through it."

Kinsley immediately burst into tears. I squeezed her hand as she said, "I think I'm ready."

Carol and I moved to sit beside her. I was still holding her hand as Carol had her arm around Kinsley.

"Okay, so yes I am upset with losing Carl, but that's not the only reason I am so upset."

Carol looked at me with a confusing look.

"Um, when you guys left for the Hilltop, Michonne, Rick and I sat were with Carl until he took his last breath. However, we didn't wait for him to turn. He didn't want that for himself."

Carol put her hand over her mouth in shock and I saw her eyes fill up with tears.

"You see, Carl asked us all to come in one by one to say our goodbyes, but my goodbye was longer. After he told me everything he wanted to, he asked if I could be the one to end his life before he turned. He told me that he knew his dad and Michonne could not do it. I told him I did not want to do that, but he told me that I was strong enough to. He then gave me his hat, telling me to one, never forget him and two, that I was the leader this group and world needed. He told me to bring peace back into this world and to lead our group. After this, he handed me the gun and I put the bullet through his skull. I cried over his lifeless body for what seemed like forever. I wondered if I would've just gone with him on the run a couple days back if I could have prevented him from being bit. I wondered if I would've just told his dad about him sneaking out of the walls again if I could have prevented it. I honestly blamed myself."

"Kinsley none of this was your fault. He made that choice himself" I said.

"I know. I just wonder sometimes, you know. And I'm sorry I haven't been myself lately, I just have been wrestling with this. You see, I haven't had to deal with something like this since the death of my family and back then I had to go through it alone. So, I had to deal with all those emotions by myself and had to go through that heartbreaking time alone. I don't really know how to deal with these kind of things when you have a family there to support you. So, I am so sorry if I upset you guys."

"You never upset us baby. We were just so worried about you. We love you so much and we will be here for you through this. If you need to cry, we will be the shoulders for you to cry on. If you need a hug, we will be there for that" I said.

"Thanks you guys. I love y'all, too. I'm sorry I didn't come and talk to you sooner. Mom, thank you for getting me to talk about it and let it all out, it really did help."

"Of course, baby. Your dad and I have been through this too. It's never easy, but know that we are both here for you for the good and bad" Carol said.

Kinsley smiled at her. There was that beautiful smile that I'd been missing so much.

We all hugged. What a relief it was to know that my girl was okay now.

We were all disrupted by a scream from the people at the gates, yelling "SAVIORS!"

We all looked at each other, eyes wide. Carol grabbed her gun and knife, I grabbed my bow and slung a gun over my shoulder and Kinsley slung her belt of knives on and grabbed a hand gun. We all took off together, ready to fight again.


	19. Chapter 19

We all rushed out the front door and chaos was already occurring. The saviors had not made it inside the gate yet, but I could see several people who were guarding the gates had already taken the bullet.

Kinsley and Carol took off in front of me, guns in hand towards the gate. As they made their way down there, the gates blew open and the two ducked behind one of the cars in hiding. I didn't have time to make my way back towards them, so I turned and went back to the house we were staying in. I climbed to the top floor and opened the window so I could see all that was going on and so I could act as a sniper for our group. I kept all the lights off so no one would know I was there. I kept a close eye on my girls making sure no one got too close and when someone did I would nail them.

Tara had joined them behind the car and the three fought together for their lives. I turned my focus to the gates because I knew they could hold their own. I shot down savior after savior as they entered into the Hilltop through those gates. I had shot down at least 20 of them at this point, but Simon caught wind of it and some of the men turned their guns to me and shot. Bullets were bouncing off everything in the room and I had to duck under the bed. The shots to the room finally stopped and when I got up, I found Kinsley standing there on the ground with a bloody knife in her hand. All five of the men were dead. She winked at me and took back off into the dark. Gah how I love that kid.

Things had started to calm down and I made my way downstairs to help finish up the fight when I heard a piercing scream. I knew that scream, too. Kinsley.

Tara and Kinsley had been hiding behind a bus when Tara was shot in the shoulder with an arrow. Kinsley was able to throw a knife and nail the guy in the head, but it turns out there must have been more of them. She laid Tara on the ground and quickly removed the arrow. She ripped off the arm of her shirt and tied it around the wound to put pressure on it. Kinsley helped Tara stand up and when she turned around she ran right into two Saviors. I guess that is where the scream came from. There was nothing she could do. Her arms were occupied holding Tara up and she couldn't reach her knives.

"You're coming with us!" they said.

"No, please no" she cried.

The sight of her kicking and screaming as they dragged her and Tara down to the truck was killing me.

I screamed myself as I ran down the front steps of the house, towards her. I ran as fast as I could, so fast that the tears falling from my eyes were drying up as soon as they fell, but I was too late. They threw her in the back like she was a box. She tried to get up and run out, but they slammed the back door of the truck and the last thing I saw was her sweet face. She had always been so fearless, but this time I could see true fear in her eyes.

I hit my knees and just cried as they sped off with my girl. I knew I couldn't run after them because they would kill me immediately and I didn't know where the heck everyone else was to try to get them to go with me. I knew we could get them back, but knowing what they did to me, I couldn't imagine what they would do to her.

"Daryl, what happened?" Carol had ran to me when she heard me scream.

"They took her! Those bastards took Kinsley and Tara!"

Her eyes started to fill with tears too as she hugged me, "It's okay baby we will get them back. She is a tough girl and so is Tara. You know they will not stop fighting until they are out. They will give them hell. Plus while we were fighting, Rick took one of the dead savior's walkie talkies so we can find where they are easier."

"I just hope we get to them before they kill her or torture her."

"We will Daryl, we will."


	20. Chapter 20

It had been a couple days since Kins was taken by the Saviors. We had been looking day in and day out to find them but we had no leads. I began to lose hope.

Every night I would cry myself to sleep, and I was not a man to cry. Carol would roll over and put her arm around my waist and lay her head on my shoulder, telling me all would be alright, but this time I just didn't believe her. I needed to know Kins would be okay. It was hard looking at that empty seat at the kitchen table and looking at the mattress on the floor that still had her body imprint on it.

I wondered every night if Negan had put her in a cell like mine. Had he stripped her of her clothes? Was he feeding her only dog food? Was he taking advantage of her? All these questions ran through my head all day, every day and it ate me alive that I was struggling to find her. What kind of parent can't find their child?

Kinsley and Tara arrived at the high gates of what looked like used to be an old school building. Kinsley's heart was about to beat out of her chest and she really thought she was going to puke. She was absolutely terrified of Negan and what he would do to her and Tara.

The doors to the truck opened and they grabbed Kinsley's arm first.

"No. No. No."

She screamed and flailed her arms and legs, but it didn't even cause the Saviors to budge. It was hopeless. They threw her to the ground and she puked all over the ground.

"Really kid?" Simon said.

He kicked her in the side and she curled up in a ball. The Saviors grabbed Tara and Kinsley and led them into what would be their worst nightmare. Kinsley couldn't help but let the tears just fall from her eyes.

They led them into a dark room and handed them a jumpsuit to change into. The two changed and sat together in the dark.

"Tara, I'm so scared."

"I know, but I will protect you I promise. We will be okay. We will bust out of here."

Kinsley just couldn't bring herself to believe her.

A whole day had gone by and the two had not seen the sun or ate or drank anything. Finally, the door opened and the bright light from the hallway burned their eyes. They couldn't make out who it was, but one of the Saviors threw two cans of food to them and closed the door back.

"Is this safe to eat you think?" Kinsley said.

"I will try it first."

The cans contained meat of some sort that seemed expired, but that was all they had to eat, so they did.

That next day the door swung open and Negan stood there with Lucille in his hand. He had a smirk on his face and Tara knew it wasn't going to be good.

"Who's ready to have some fun with me tonight?" Negan asked with a wink.

Kinsley's stomach literally flipped upside down. She thought she was going to be sick again.

He walked into the dark room and glared right at Kinsley.

"Your dad has caused a whole lot of trouble here and it is about time he paid for it. I guess I will just have to get that payback through his most prized possession."

He grabbed her arm and began to drag her out of the room. She couldn't even get a scream out.

"Negan, wait!" Tara screamed.

"Please don't do this to her, she is just a child and this would scar her. Just take me."

"Whatever, as long as I have fun tonight, but don't celebrate too early Kinsley because your punishment is coming soon."

He dropped Kinsley on the floor and led Tara out of the room.

Kinsley spent that night alone in the dark room. She curled up in a ball and cried herself to sleep. She felt so alone. She wondered what her family was doing back at the hilltop and if I would find her soon.

The door woke her up at what seemed like not even two hours after she had fallen asleep and Negan pushed Tara in the room so hard that she fell to her knees. Kinsley sat up, rubbing her eyes to get a look at what the heck was going on.

"Good morning sunshine. Ready for your turn?" Negan said.

"You swore you wouldn't!" Tara screamed.

"Oh no honey, I am doing something different with her. I have something in mind that will definitely be a good payback for that asshole of a dad she has. Lucky, you, you get to come watch Tara." he smirked.

He grabbed Kinsley and drug her out of the room, tears flowing down her eyes. He walked her down to a room with clear windows all around her. Kinsley turned around one last time to Tara with pure fear in her eyes. She was at a loss for words.

"All is Well" is all Tara could mutter. She feared for Kinsley and for her life because she knew what Negan was capable of doing.

Kinsley walked into the room and saw a gray, shiny medical table and a doctor's robe. She was so confused at what they were doing and just the look of it scared her.

"Change into the gown" Negan demanded.

Kinsley felt so ashamed changing into it as the men in the room just watched her change and the people surrounding the room could see too. These people had no decency. She looked at Tara hopeless and she just gave her a reassuring smile.

The gown covered everything in the front but the back was all open and all that held it together was a rubber tie around her waist.

Negan came up to her and handed her a hair tie, "Put your hair up now."

Kinsley obeyed and pulled her hair into a messy bun. Negan then walked her over to the table and demanded she lay on her stomach.

"This is a little game where we like to see how much you can take. Now I know your dad can take quite a bit young lady, so I am interested to see if you are the same since you are from the same blood" Negan claimed.

Everyone was surrounding the outside of the glass now and watching to see what Negan was going to do to her.

Kinsley literally feared her life and just knew in the back of her mind that she was going to die tonight on this table. They were going to tear her to shreds.

Negan took handcuffs and cuffed her wrists and ankles to the bar surrounding the table so she couldn't go anywhere or try to hurt one of the Saviors.

Kinsley's heart started beating so fast when she saw them laying the tools on the table beside her. They laid down a drill, a knife, a couple hooks and several other intimidating instruments.

She felt Negan put a blindfold over her eyes and she knew it was over.

"Simon, I will let you pick the tool. Pick something that can cause some damage. This one deserves hell for what her dad did to our men."

She heard a distant scream and recognized Tara's voice screaming "No!" over and over and she just closed her eyes. She imagined something peaceful to get her mind off of it. She imagined being back at home and sitting at the kitchen table with her dad and mom, telling them all about her life before the apocalypse. She imagined her dad's laugh that was so awkward and weird and it made her smile. She imagined her new mom's hugs that gave her so much comfort. How she would kill for one of those hugs right now. All of her thoughts were disturbed when she felt a piercing feeling in her back.

She knew immediately what it was; a knife. She felt it slide down her spine as Negan cut the skin all the way down close to her butt. Kinsley couldn't even get a scream out because she was in so much pain. They didn't numb her or give her medicine or anything! She could hear the blood gush from her back and could feel how cold it was when it touched her skin surrounding the new incision. The pain she felt was so strong and her ears began to ring. Right then her whole world went black.

She woke up for a couple minutes to the nurse sewing up her new wound. However, she was using a string instead of stitches. She knew this would get infected and not end well for her. It was so painful and she blacked out once again.

The next time she woke up she was laying on the cold, hard floor in that awful room.

"Thank God you're awake" Tara said.

Kinsley was so weak she couldn't even flip over. Every simple move she made, she could feel the strings coming undone and blood flowing out. With every move, pain shot down her spine.

"Kinsley, I have to get you out of here. This wound is not going to heal and it is going to get infected. They didn't even have the decency to use a clean knife and they stitched you up with freaking string. We need to get you home to the doctor because this could get serious."

"I feel so sick and it hurts so bad Tara. I want my dad."

"I know, sweet girl. I will get you out of here so soon I promise. I will start thinking of a plan now. I am so sorry that this happened to you. I thought that taking your punishment that night with Negan would either keep you from punishment or lessen the blow some, but that bastard still hurt you the most."

That night Tara and Kinsley came up with the perfect plan to kill the next guard that brought them food and take his walkie talkie to talk to Rick back home.

The guard came in and brought the food and Kinsley asked him for help opening the can since she was so weak. While he helped her, Tara attacked him from the back and was able to strangle him.

She switched the walkie talkie to channel 7, which she knew was the channel Rick and the group were using.

"Rick, Rick. It's Tara. Do you copy?

Two minutes passed and the two were beginning to lose hope.

Finally, Rick came on, "Tara! Thank God. How are you guys? Are you okay?"

"Um, we are alive, but Kinsley is not okay. Rick, I need to talk to Daryl now."

"Okay let me get him."

"Tara! What is wrong with Kins? Is she hurt? Where are you guys?" Daryl said.

"She is okay and alive, but very sick now and hurting. She is in bad shape Daryl and I do not know how much time she has to spare. We need to get her home to the doctor as soon as possible like tonight or tomorrow Daryl. She is getting worse."

"Okay, where are you? Let me talk to her."

"Dad!" Kinsley screamed.

"How good it is to hear your voice baby girl. I am coming to get you baby don't worry."

"Okay, Tara what is the plan?"

Tara heard footsteps coming and she knew she had to act fast.

"Okay Daryl they are coming. Meet us tonight at 5:00 at the old high school that we did runs at with Alexandria. I will get us out of here I have an idea."

She hung up the walkie talkie and put it back in the guard's pocket.


End file.
